No person shall keep or maintain, or permit the keeping of, upon any premises owned, occupied or controlled by such person, any animal or fowl otherwise permitted to be kept which, by any sound, cry or behavior shall cause annoyance or discomfort to a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness on any residential property. (See also Section 10.28.020, Noise disturbances by animals.)

It shall be unlawful for any person within the city to operate construction tools or equipment in the performance of any outside construction or repair work on buildings, structures, or projects except in accordance with Section 8.04.220, of this code.

The use of gasoline powered leaf blowers, to produce a current of air and thereby push, propel or blow cuttings, refuse or debris, or otherwise shall be prohibited within the corporate limits of the City.(Ord. 1932 § 3, 2017; PSMC 11.74.043(k))

In addition to banning the use of gasoline blowers, the ordinance also prohibits users from blowing debris into the street or onto adjacent properties. Individual residents or companies that are found operating gas blowers are subject to the following citations:

• $100 for first offense
• $250 for second offense
• $500 for third and subsequent offenses

Report violations to the Code Enforcement Compliance Hotline at 760-778-8434 or on the “Report Issues” section of the myPalmSprings App available on the App Store and Google Play.

Please include as much information as possible in your report – location, time, company name, and your contact information and a picture if possible.

Visit our Sustainability and Recycling webpage for more information on:

• Ordinance requirements & enforcement
• Funding for electric leaf blowers
• Best practices for using electric leaf blowers
• Outreach history
• Ordinance development information

It shall be unlawful for any person to play, use, operate or permit to be played, used or operated, any radio receiver, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound amplifier, or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of any sound upon any public street, alley, sidewalk, passageway or thoroughfare, or in or upon any public park or other public place so as to unreasonably interfere with the peace and quiet of any other person; or if such act is done upon any private property, so as to unreasonably interfere with the peace and quiet of any person outside the boundary of such private property.

Vacation Rentals

5.25.070(g) - Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 11.74.043, any radio receiver, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound amplifier, or any machine or device for the producing or reproducing of any sound shall be conducted within a fully enclosed vacation rental unit and shall not be audible at the property line of the vacation rental.

Operating or permitting the operation of any device that creates a vibration which is above the vibration perception threshold of an individual at or beyond the property boundary of the source if on private property or one hundred fifty feet from the source if on a public space or public right-of-way, is unlawful.

"Vibration perception threshold" 

On Friday night, persistent winds for most of the evening likely carried lower-frequency bass further south toward the Tahquitz Creek Golf neighborhood. While faint event sounds were occasionally audible, they did not register on sound level meters and no bass vibration was detected. On Saturday night, calmer winds coincided with no similar southern neighborhood concerns, suggesting wind may influence how low-frequency sound travels.

Across both daytime and after-hours events, noise levels generally increased over the course of each performance day, often peaking during headliner sets. This is a common industry practice but conflicts with noise ordinance requirements for lower evening levels. Monitoring data confirmed that these later increases sometimes pushed sound levels above permitted limits, prompting immediate volume and bass reductions when necessary.

While the ordinance does not specify C-weighted limits for bass, measurements taken with both A- and C-weighting showed that readings in the 70s rarely caused perceptible bass vibration. Levels in the high 80s and 90s, however, produced vibrations exceeding acceptable thresholds from observation points near the venue. 

Splash House Weekend 1 — Noise Concern Summary
Goal: Provide transparency on noise monitoring and responses during the August 9–11 event.

Weekend Totals

• Concerns received: 9

• Confirmed exceedances of noise limits: 2

• Actions taken: Immediate adjustments in both confirmed cases

• Air Museum noise issues: 4 on Friday, none Saturday, none Sunday

Friday – Air Museum

• Concerns: 4 (all referencing bass) from the Tahquitz Creek Golf neighborhood

• Findings: Noise measured at 34 dB (below permitted limit); no measurable bass vibration

• Outcome: No violation — some reports misattributed the source of noise

Saturday – Daytime Festival

• Concerns: 3 (2 near Riviera, 1 near Renaissance)

• Findings:

  • Riviera: Within permitted limits; bass not excessive at the time.

  • Renaissance: 57–61 dB (above 55 dB limit) with bass vibration exceeding limits.

• Action: Notified organizers; volume and bass reduced immediately.

Saturday – Air Museum

• Concerns: None reported

Sunday – Daytime Festival

• Concerns: 2 (1 near Saguaro, 1 near Riviera)

• Findings:

  • Saguaro: 45 dB, no detectable bass vibration — within limits.

  • Riviera: 65–68 dB (above 55 dB limit) with excessive bass vibration.

• Action: Notified organizers; volume and bass reduced immediately.

Splash House Weekend 2 — Noise Complaint Summary

Goal: Provide transparency on noise monitoring and responses during the August 16–18 event.

Weekend Totals

• Concerns received: 34

• Confirmed exceedances of noise limits: 8

• Actions taken: Immediate communication with organizers; real-time volume/bass reductions implemented in each confirmed case

• Air Museum noise issues: 9 total (3 Friday, 6 Saturday)

Friday – Air Museum

• Concerns: 3 (Escena, Tahquitz Creek Golf, Gene Autry)

• Findings:

  • Escena: 45–49 dB, no bass vibration above threshold

  • Tahquitz Creek Golf: 34–38 dB, no bass vibration

  • Gene Autry: 40–45 dB ambient, no detectable event noise

• Outcome: No violations detected

Saturday – Daytime Festival

• Concerns: 7 (5 near Riviera, 2 near Saguaro)

• Findings:

  • Riviera:

    • 2 Rogers Ranch readings within limits early, but later exceeded limits (up to 70–75 dB with excessive bass).

    • 1 Movie Colony East within limits (bass intermittent but below threshold).

    • 1 Vista Norte and 1 Racquet Club Estates both exceeded limits (up to 75 dB, bass above threshold).

  • Saguaro:

    • Araby Commons: First measurement within limits (bass above threshold), second report unmeasured due to event ending.

• Action: Organizers immediately notified; volume and bass reduced in real time.

Saturday – Air Museum

• Concerns: 6 (Escena, Tahquitz Creek Golf, El Dorado Palms Estates)

• Findings:

  • Escena: One exceedance (50–55 dB with bass above permitted limits); later measurement within limits.

  • Tahquitz Creek Golf: Noise 40–49 dB, bass intermittent but below threshold.

  • El Dorado Palms: 45–47 dB, bass intermittent but below threshold.

• Action: Bass exceedance relayed to organizers; adjustments made immediately.

Sunday – Daytime Festival

• Concerns: 18 (11 Riviera, 6 Saguaro, 1 Renaissance)

• Findings:

  • Renaissance - 1 Reported Concern
   
  • 1 Midtown (Deauville)
   
  • 3:22p - Measured Noise and Bass were within limits
   
  • Riviera - 11 Reported Concerns
   
  • 2 Rodgers Ranch
   
  • 7:32p - Noise did not exceed limits, was unable to get accurate readings due to high winds in the area causing interference. Bass intermittently detectable but did not exceed the vibration perception threshold.
   
  • 4 Vista Norte
   
  • 7:34p - Measured Noise was reading within permitted limits between 54dB - 58dB. Bass intermittently detectable but did not exceed the vibration perception threshold
   
  • 8:13p - Measured Noise exceeded the permitted limits and was reading between 68dB - 72dB. Bass exceeded the vibration perception threshold. The information was relayed to the Goldenvoice Event Organizers in real-time with direction given to lower the overall volume and lower the bass levels.
   
  • 8:58p - Measured Noise exceeded the permitted limits and was reading as high as 70dB. Bass exceeded the vibration perception threshold. The information was relayed to the Goldenvoice Event Organizers in real-time with direction given to lower the overall volume and lower the bass levels.
   
  • 9:00p - Measured Noise exceeded the permitted limits and was reading as high as 70dB. Bass exceeded the vibration perception threshold. The information was relayed to the Goldenvoice Event Organizers in real-time with direction given to lower the overall volume and lower the bass levels.
   
  • 2 Movie Colony East
   
  • 9:00p - Due to the volume of reports received at the same time, noise measurements were conducted just beyond the property lines of the event site and not near this reported address
   
  • 9:08p - Due to the volume of reports received at the same time, noise measurements were conducted just beyond the property lines of the event site and not near this reported address
   
  • 1 Racquet Club Estates
   
  • 9:26p - No additional readings were taken, event ended at 9:30p before we arrived at the site to conduct noise measurements
   
  • 2 El Mirador
   
  • 9:02 - Due to the volume of reports received at the same time, noise measurements were conducted just beyond the property lines of the event site and not near this reported address 
   
  • 9:08 - Due to the volume of reports received at the same time, noise measurements were conducted just beyond the property lines of the event site and not near this reported address
   
  • Saguaro - 6 Reported Concerns
   
  • 2 Sonora Sunrise
   
  • 7:08p - Measured Noise was within limits reading between 45dB - 50dB. bass intermittently detectable but did not exceed the vibration perception threshold
   
  • 9:00p - Measured Noise exceeded the permitted limits and was reading as high as 67dB. Bass exceeded the vibration perception threshold. The information was relayed to the Goldenvoice Event Organizers in real-time with direction given to lower the overall volume and lower the bass levels.
   
  • 1 Deepwell
   
  • 9:00p - Measured Noise exceeded the permitted limits and was reading as high as 67dB. Bass exceeded the vibration perception threshold. The information was relayed to the Goldenvoice Event Organizers in real-time with direction given to lower the overall volume and lower the bass levels.
   
  • 1 Araby Commons
   
  • 9:09p - Measured Noise exceeded the permitted limits and was reading as high as 67dB. Bass exceeded the vibration perception threshold. The information was relayed to the Goldenvoice Event Organizers in real-time with direction given to lower the overall volume and lower the bass levels.
   
  • 2 Tahquitz Creek Golf
   
  • 8:38p - Noise from the event was intermittently detectable but did not measure above the ambient noise level, readings were between 40dB - 45dB and there was no detectable bass vibration.
   
  • 9:19p - No additional readings were taken, event ended at 9:30p before we arrived at the site to conduct noise measurements

   

• Action: Organizers notified; immediate reductions to volume and bass levels.